Subject and oject questions (1)

First, let’s review the difference between a SUBJECT and an OBJECT. 

The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that performs the action: 

a. The children drink some milk. 

b. She calls her boyfriend. 

c. The typhoon destroyed a lot of trees. 

d. Drinking causes lung cancer. 

e. My father has cooked some pasta.  

The object of a sentence is the person or thing that receives the action: 

a. The children drink some milk. 

b. She calls her boyfriend. 

c. The typhoon destroyed a lot of trees. 

d. Drinking causes lung cancer. 

e. My father has cooked some pasta. 

Most questions in English are object questions – we want to know about the receiver of the action. 

How to form object questions: 

Wh Question + Auxiliary Verb + Subject + Verb ? 

1. What do children drink? 

The children drink some milk. 

B. What did the typhoon destroy? 

The typhoon destroyed a lot of trees. 

C. What has my father cooked? 

My father has cooked some pasta. 

Sometimes we want to ask about the subject. We don’t know the person or thing who performed the action, and we want to find out.

Subject questions do NOT use the auxiliary verbs do, does, did, and so on. 

How to form subject questions: 

Who / What + verb in the simple present or simple past + object ? 

Examples of subject questions in the simple present:

A. Who drinks milk? 

The children drink milk. 

B. Who calls her boyfriend? 

She calls her boyfriend. 

C. What causes lung cancer? 

Drinking causes lung cancer. 

Examples of subject questions in the simple past:

A. What destroyed a lot of trees? 

The typhoon destroyed a lot of trees. 

B. Who cooked some pasta? 

My father cooked some pasta. 

C. Who saw you? 

My friend saw me.